


Clearing Skies

by Reddwarfer



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Injury Recovery, M/M, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), coping with an injury
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-09
Updated: 2016-05-09
Packaged: 2018-06-07 08:26:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 945
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6796651
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Reddwarfer/pseuds/Reddwarfer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A little coda to the end of Captain America: Civil War in which Rhodey and Tony talk about things that need to be said between them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Clearing Skies

**Author's Note:**

> Spoilers for Civil War, obviously.

When Rhodey wakes, pain sharp dancing like lightning across his skin, he's alone. The sheets rumpled, sweat damp, and empty. It's a surprise, though it shouldn't be. Tony's barely left his side since he came back stateside, hands empty of anything but a shield and self-recrimination. 

Slowly, Rhodey inches to the edge of the bed, mindful of the pain and tips from the physical therapist (therapists, actually, Tony has hired and fired three before Rhodey put his proverbial foot down on the fourth). Getting to his feet takes a bit more work, more pain, but perseverance is in his blood and he doesn't know how to quit, besides. 

″May I offer some assistance, Colonel Rhodes?″ Vision asks, almost startling him into falling over. He corrects his stance, not without effort, and forces a smile on his face.

″Thanks, but I've got it,″ Rhodey says. Vision nods and walks back over to the sofa. Rhodey watches him go. It's weird, he thinks, looking at Vision, a red-sort of man shaped being, wearing a pleated pair of slacks and a cashmere sweater. He prefers him in his battle garb, even if his cape looks ransacked from Salvation Army's stock of curtains from the seventies. ″Tony in his lab?″ he asks, more to fill in silence than anything.

″Yes. He's been there since shortly after midnight,″ Vision explains. There's a note of concern in his tone, but he doesn't elaborate on it. Rhodey doesn't expect him to. He's not Wanda, after all.

″Thanks,″ he says, and makes the slow trek to the elevator. It's not too far for him, he thinks. He's worked up to longer in P.T. He just needs to concentrate and not rush. He swallows down the burst of anger that shoots up, knowing that just a few months ago, none of this was a concern. 

Tony's working when the door to the lab opens to admit him, which he expects. The lack of music blasting at decibels not seen at rock concerts makes him sigh. He snags the chair which Tony'd placed in the lab solely for Rhodey's benefit, and sits down. 

″Can't sleep?″ they both ask each other, at the same time.

Tony's eyes scrunch up in a quick smile and Rhodey chuckles. ″You first,″ Tony says, which jars. Rhodey will never admit he misses Tony being selfish, because he doesn't, not really. Even though part of him does if only because it's familiar, means normalcy. 

″These work fine, you know,″ Rhodey comments. He looks down at the cybernetic enhancements encasing part of his legs. ″The last three iterations worked fine, too.″

″But these will work even more fine,″ Tony protests. ″Even better than more fine. Plus, if you're lucky, I'll even give you some go-faster stripes.″

″Tony,″ Rhodey says, exasperated. ″It's fine. You're not sleeping. Again. You not sleeping always makes me nervous.″

″It's fine, honeybear,″ Tony replies, waving a hand. "I had a good three hours and four cups of coffee. Another two hours if you count my phone call with Ross, today. I'm pretty sure I napped through most of it.″

″What did he want?″ Rhodey asks, not quite sure he wants the answer. In the service, you learn quick that there's good commanding officers and bad ones. It may have taken a while, but he's getting the measure of him, and he doesn't care for what he sees. 

″You know, the usual. Wants us to hunt down Rogers and the others. Threatens to throw me in the Raft, blah blah. I stopped listening after a while.″ Tony closes his eyes a moment, frowning. ″I told him I'm doing everything I deemed necessary.″

″And what is it that you deem necessary?″ Rhodey asks, shifting a bit in his chair. He can't handle any one position for long, not yet.

Tony hold up one hand, fingers mimicking a phone. ″Hello, Cap, wanna turn you and your ragtag band of misfits in? No? Okay. Coffee after the next catastrophe? Sure thing. Nice chat.″ Tony effects an expression of deep, insincere regret. ″All my efforts to bring him have failed. My bad,″ Tony says, tone grave.

″Ass,″ Rhodey tosses out, affection colouring the word. 

″Am I doing the right thing?″ Tony asks, serious all at once. ″I thought I was doing the right thing before, and look where we are now. I guess it doesn't matter.″

″Tony,″ Rhodey says, forcing himself to his feet. It takes a minute, but he makes his way over to where Tony's standing. ″Sometimes right or wrong can only be determined in hindsight. Maybe it all went FUBAR. Maybe because we chose what we chose we avoided something worse. You can only make decisions with the information you have at hand.″

There's a moment of silence as Tony digests what Rhodey's saying, and takes the time to put his hand on Tony's shoulder, squeezing it. ″You didn't make this decision alone.″

″Do you blame me?″ Tony asks, then, voice as quiet as it ever gets. Rhodey's been waiting to hear this question since he woke up in a hospital to Tony hovering over his bedside, face filled with guilt and bruises in equal measure.

″No, Tony,″ Rhodey says, he leans over and kisses Tony's temple. ″No.″ It's not even a lie, not anymore. ″I don't,″ he says, means it like he wouldn't have meant it two months ago. He tilts Tony's face towards his, and kisses Tony again. Slow, deep, filled with all things Tony needs to hear from him, but refuses to listen to him say. Tony kisses back, curling his hand around the back of Rhodey's neck, and thinks maybe, for once, Tony hears him.

**Author's Note:**

> The term "go-faster stripes" was borrowed with love from Red Dwarf.


End file.
